There is lots of nostalgia currently felt by Chicago Bulls fans. One of the Bulls’ best players, Derrick Rose, announced his retirement on Sept. 26 after playing 16 seasons. Even though he hasn’t played for the Chicago Bulls since the 2015-16 season, Derrick Rose remains a prominent sports figure in Chicago.
Why does he mean a lot to Chicago? In the 2010-11 season, the Chicago Bulls went as far as the conference finals. The last time they went that far, they won their sixth championship in the 1997-98 season.
That same season, Rose became the youngest player in NBA history to be named Most Valuable Player at 22 years old. After that season, some fans said that Rose was the next Michael Jordan for Chicago basketball.
Derrick Rose is one of the reasons I started watching the NBA, and why it’s my favorite sport to this day. He played alongside other Bulls greats like Joakim Noah, Luol Deng and Taj Gibson in the 2010s under head coach Tom Thibodeau, and times were good back then.
Rose kept the game fun with his amazing dunks and fast plays. He also gave Chicago fans hope that they could possibly go as far as a championship. Even though that didn’t come into fruition, his playoff runs and the plentiful highlight reels of him are great to look back on.
My favorite Rose memory is when he hit the game winning shot in game three of the 2014-15 Eastern Conference Semifinals against the Cleveland Cavaliers at the United Center. He hit a buzzer-beating three-pointer, and everyone in the arena went berserk (besides Cleveland). This was the last time the Bulls made it to the playoffs with Rose before he was traded to the New York Knicks in 2016.
Rose was a Chicago kid, born and raised in the Englewood neighborhood of Chicago. He was drafted to his hometown team, and instantly became a star. But in 2012, during a playoff game against the Philadelphia 76ers, Rose tore his ACL. Many people say that he was not the same after this injury.
He sat out for the whole 2012-13 season, and many people wonder to this day what would have happened if he never tore his ACL. Would he have become MVP again? Could he have beaten LeBron James and his playoff runs with the Heat and Cavaliers? Could he have helped the Bulls to a championship? Lots of questions float in the air during talks about Rose.
While it was a bummer that the ACL injury happened, people love to reminisce on his years with the Bulls. Alongside the MVP, he was Rookie of the Year in the 2008-09 season and a three time All-Star. He also helped the Bulls get to the playoffs six times out of the eight seasons he played with them. The Bulls didn’t go far in many of their playoff runs with him, but witnessing Rose and his incredible play made fans hopeful and excited for a possible seventh championship.
Seeing a player stay in their hometown and achieve great things with their team is an amazing thing to watch. Many of us (aka me) wish he could have signed with the Bulls for one more year and retired with them, but Derrick Rose deserves to retire on his own terms. He will forever be a Chicago Bulls icon, and I will be there when the Bulls retire his jersey.
Related Stories:
- The stagnation of the Chicago Bulls should be studied
- Nick Ongenda opts out of final season at DePaul, enters 2023 NBA Draft
- Coach Holtmann wants to connect – with you
Stay informed with The DePaulia’s top stories, delivered to your inbox every Monday.
